What will always astonish me though is that she chose that life. And stayed with it! That she took the smallest, hottest room in the convent/home for the poor, above the kitchen.
Now, on the other hand, she took private jets, and I’m sure was given beautiful accommodations whenever she spoke or received one of her many awards. It makes me wonder if she requested a broom closet at the Ritz. Because a part of me thinks it would be crazy to not take in the abundance God Herself was making available to you.
Apparently Pope John Paul II worked hard to get her to the head of the line of saint candidates, and the current Pope, Francis, made it official on Sept. 4. I was astonished to learn that he waived several requirements, but the two-miracle rule still applied. The Vatican needed to prove that Mother Teresa performed two miracles to make it official official. Jeez, it reminds me of when I went to the DMV to change my name on my driver’s license after my divorce. I didn’t have the right forms, papers, and documents and had to keep going back. At a certain point you really start to think; “Oh ferthelovagod, never mind!”
Yeah, it was just like that — I should be a saint.
So, here’s what I think… anyone who devotes their life to helping the poor and is sleeping in a hot closet night after night — for whatever reason — is automatically a saint. And anyone who complains about having to go back to the DMV three times because they don’t have the right paper work is a whiner.
And that everyone — absolutely everyone — is a walking, talking miracle.
Here are the lyrics to a new song that I wrote about Mother Teresa. Enjoy!
A miracle, a miracle, a miracle or two
A miracle, a miracle, a miracle from you
Then we will know
You were the one
And not a simple human nun
A miracle, a miracle, a miracle sitting there
A miracle, a miracle, a miracle in your chair
That’s what you are,
Born of the stars
I look at you
And see that spark…of
A miracle, a miracle, a miracle that’s you
A miracle, a miracle, a miracle, it’s true